Roseville Bars Blame City Ordinance for Closures

Roseville Bars Blame City Ordinance for Closures

ROSEVILLE-

Bars in Roseville say they have to close because of a city ordinance.

The ordinance has bars in the city’s historic district charge a $5 cover after 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Roseville Police say constant calls for service in that area on busy nights prompted the ordinance.

“We were having some issues down there,” Roseville Police Department spokesperson Dee Dee Gunther said. “There were a lot of fights where it required resources from the police department.”

Since the ordinance went into effect in December, two bars in historic Roseville have closed – The Rose Room and Mint.

Now, at the end of the month, The Owl Club will shut its doors after 80 years.

One bar was even ticketed $100 for “not wanding patrons or charging cover.”

“The cover charge, we don’t get,” Onyx Club owner Dave Sullivan said. “To charge a patron to come into your business, we don’t understand how that provides public safety.”

Sullivan’s bar is hasn’t had to close, but he is worried that it might have to.